[AMRadio] SPAM/Bounces

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 6:11 PM, Mack Rogers <n4vgb at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Well Todd, it is if you use facebook.

We're not talking about Facebook.

> I had a gmail account years ago and abandoned it's use because 90% of what I received there was spam and I got fed up.

No doubt something to do with how you had your gmail account
configured and the types of sites you frequented. Not terribly germane
to the discussion. I've had my gmail account since 2004 as one of the
beta testers, I might get 4 or 5 spam email attempts in my inbox per
year. The rest go directly to the spambox where I can view the
subject/sender and delete without ever reading them. In fact, I can
just delete the whole pile without reviewing if I so choose.

> Brian seemed to be addressing the "bounce back" of emails problem that is caused by too many recepients flagging emails as spam from the server that this email reflector resides on. That problem is not a security issue that any service provider can help you to resolve. Some service providers pursue the problem of spam in much too aggressive a manner and end up blocking emails that are legitimate, just because they originate from the same server source. That is why I never flag any emails from any of the ham radio email reflectors as being spam, even those that are indeed spam.

Again, Gmail does that for me. The only ones that have gotten through
recently are the ones from users whose accounts have been hacked and
spam sent through this server.

> I don't believe for a second that google (gmail) spends any more time or money on their security than yahoo or any other service provider. They're all in business to make money and spend no more than is necessary.

Glad to see you're an expert on internet email providers too, Mack. (o:

> "Hijacking" an email account is not as easy as you make it sound Todd and few hackers would pursue such a venture since there is no profit involved. None of the spam I've received from any of the ham radio based email reflectors has come from any email address that I recognize as being one of the legitimate and long time users. Most email accounts are "hacked" perfectly legally via not so knowledgeable users signing up on "social networking" websites that if they had taken time to read the license agreement they wouldn't have signed up and allowed all their info to be downloaded by websites that then use their email account for spamming purposes. The only true spam I've received has always originated from a new list/group user that only signed up for the purpose of spamming and I don't recall any spam originating from this email reflector at all???

Guess you haven't been watching then. You must be spending too much
time on Facebook. Over the past several months there have been
numerous email posts to this list as well as others from registered
users whose address books were hacked by a spammer. Keep in mind that
each event is not a case of some person sitting at a pc hacking away.
A program is developed and tested that does the dirty work. It is then
propagated through the usual methods - attachments, etc - to infect
users accounts. It's all very automated, far faster and easier than
searching for groups to sign up with and going through that process.
More of a 'set and forget' approach.

> I know the "bounce back" and "blocked" problem is a big one for administrators of any email reflector but I don't believe for a second that all subscribers on any of the ham radio email reflectors moving to gmail will instantly solve for you.

Nobody said it would, merely cut down drastically on the problem. The
statistics speak for themselves as far as the providers afflicted with
the problem.

> In fact, if you guys deem it necessary for all to have a gmail account, I'll just have to wave bye-bye.

Ah, shades of your time on AMfone. Again you puts words in my mouth,
when all I did was suggest people get a gmail account. However, if you
want to leave the group, I'll feel obligated to wave right back atcha.
That's your choice, just like choosing not to upgrade your license so
you can get on the air. It won't affect the group or how we run things
here, I promise. We'll continue to do our best to provide a clean,
comfortable reflector for the purpose of exchanging info to enhance
the technical and on-air AM experience.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4